Merciful רַחוּם

We are rolling into chapter thirty-four of Exodus with our word for today used for the first time in the Bible. רַחוּם sympathy, compassion, compassionate, merciful. It is used 13 times in the Old Testament. Here is a good example of what are word means. Deuteronomy 4:31 For the Lord your God is a רַחוּם֙ merciful God. He will not leave you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers that he swore to them. Notice how God defines what our word means. It is God not leaving or destroying his people. And it is not forgetting his agreement with them. This is a beautiful word to describe who God is and how he acts for our benefit. We also see further emphasis on God’s faithfulness to his people in this use of our word. 2 Chronicles 30:9 For the Lord your God is gracious וְרַחוּם֙ and merciful and will not turn away his face from you, if you return to him. Notice here that God shows this part of him when we come back to him in repentance. We also see our word used alongside these: gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. They are used together to describe God’s character. Psalm 86:15 But you, O Lord, are a God רַח֣וּם merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. Psalm 103:8 The Lord is רַח֣וּם merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love (Psalm 145:8).  Nehemiah points to God’s character as the reason for his willingness to forgive. Nehemiah 9:17 They refused to obey and were not mindful of the wonders that you performed among them, but they stiffened their neck and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious וְרַח֛וּם and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them. We see our word with these others used to call people to repentance. Joel 2:13 and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious וְרַחוּם֙ and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster. This character quality of God is not always welcomed. Jonah had personal experience with the Assyrians who he thought didn’t deserve God’s forgiveness.  Jonah 4:2 And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God וְרַח֔וּם and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. This is also how our word is used in our chapter today which is also the first time it is used in the Bible. Exodus 34:6-7 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God רַח֖וּם merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation.” I find it interesting that the first time God identifies himself he does it with our word alongside these other ones. People have a lot of ideas about God but if we asked him this is how he identifies himself. This is great news for us who need God’s mercy. I’ll close with how Peter correctly identifies who Jesus really is when so many had other ideas about him. Jesus takes Peter’s words and declares that his church will be built on this confession and belief in the God who is living and full of mercy. Matthew 16:13-18 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”